Lily McGill

The following story is taken from Tongarra Tales by Jack Martin, published by the Tongarra Heritage Society Inc, 2005.

Archibald and Margaret McGill lived under the mountain cliffs in between Yellow Rock and Tongarra and in 1883 their family was struck with tragedy when four of the children lost their lives to diphtheria - they were aged from three to eight years and died within nine days of each other.

Lily McGill was one of the McGill’s surviving daughters. After the death of Archibald in 1915. Lily and her brother Harold carried on the farm for a number of years. When Lily's mother Margaret died in 1935 Lily took over the farm. She lived by herself in the home, milking a number of cows by hand and had a lonely and isolated life. Lily only went into town at Albion Park when she had to do business or to buy supplies.

During the 1930s Lily relied on the State Boys to help her on the farm. Farmers could apply to the Welfare Office and be allotted a boy to assist with the farm work.

Sometimes Lily would ride down the mountain and do the hand washing for Mrs. Couch who lived at ‘Wairanga’ farm at Yellow Rock Road when she was not well.

On the farm Lily would hand milk the cows by herself, catch her old draught mare, harness the horse, hook her to the slide and lift one or two cans of heavy milk onto the slide before driving down the mountain to meet the lorry at Yellow Rock, which would take the milk to the factory.

During the Second World War Lily was the only person living at Yellow Rock mountain on the western side. According to local farmer Jack Martin, Lily was a strange figure - very tall, thin and wiry in her old clothes and she always carried a stock whip.

Isolation never seemed to affect her. As she got older in the 1950s she left the farm and came to live at Albion Park, opposite Centenary Hall.

Lily was the only person Jack knew who could germinate an Illawarra Flame Tree, and used to grow them in old jam tins for her friends.

Lily McGill riding with the Foran family at Green Mountain, Yellow Rock c.1930-1940
Shellharbour Images Shellharbour City Libraries

 'Wairanga', home of the Couch family at Yellow Rock.
Tongarra Museum collection.